Computer-Implemented System and Method for Facilitating Agent-Customer Calls

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented system and method for facilitating agent-customer calls is provided. A call from a customer is accepted into a call center and is assigned to an agent associated with the call center. At least one text message is received from the customer during the call and is directed to the agent. Outgoing text messages are received from the agent in response to the text message from the customer and content of the outgoing text messages from the agent are converted into synthesized speech. The synthesized speech is provided to the customer during the call.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional patent application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/457,050, filed Aug. 11, 2014, which is acontinuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,804,938, issued Aug. 12, 2014, which isa continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,457,296 issued Jun. 4, 2013, which isa continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,068,595, issued on Nov. 29, 2011,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 7,292,689, issued onNov. 6, 2007, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patentapplication, Ser. No. 60/364,555, filed Mar. 15, 2002 and U.S.provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60/403,354, filed Aug. 13,2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present invention relates in general to automated call centeroperation and, in particular, to a computer-implemented system andmethod for processing user communications.

BACKGROUND

Customer call centers, or simply, “call centers,” are usually the firstdirect point of contact for customers seeking direct assistance frommanufacturers and service vendors. Call centers are reachable bytelephone and provide a single source for customer support and problemresolution. Although World Wide Web-based customer support is becomingincreasingly available via the Internet, call centers still offer aconvenient and universally-available forum for remote customerassistance. In addition, for mobile callers, such as customers who arein a car and unable to access the Internet, call centers remain the onlypractical resource for receiving assistance on-the-go.

As customer satisfaction and good will depend significantly on serviceafter the sale, vendors spend substantial time, money and effort inensuring effective call center operation. Customer assistanceprofessionals are trained in providing both effective and courteouscommunication and informed and accurate product and service information.Nevertheless, the volume of call traffic can often exceed thecapabilities of human customer assistance agents, and a range ofautomated call center systems are presently used to help bridge the gapbetween the need to provide responsive assistance and the limits ofhuman call center staff.

Typically, in existing automated call center systems, customers are puton hold until an agent is available to take their call. While on hold,an automated system typically collects information from the customer,such as account number, to determine a priority of service. Such asystem may also provide automated menus that attempt to classify thecall into basic transaction types, for instance, based on languagespoken.

When an agent is available to take the call, the agent will greet thecustomer, may ask for identification information, and will attempt todetermine the nature of the call, often by asking for the sameinformation that the customer previously provided to the automatedsystem. The agent then takes some action, such as performingtroubleshooting and providing the caller with instructions for resolvingthe problem. Further, to assist in improving customer support, the agentwill usually log the customer information provided by the caller.

Each customer call is typically an interactive process. During theinteraction, the agent may put the customer on hold while the agentgathers information, takes notes, or sometimes handles other customers.Finally, after call completion, the agent will summarize the call as acall log entry. The interactive process is repeated for each new callerthroughout the course of the day. This interactive process is timeinefficient. Agents are forced to wait for customers to complete theirinstructions while customers similarly remain on hold while agents areassisting other callers, researching a problem resolution, or creatingcall logs.

A customer interaction system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,778,660,to Fromm, issued on Aug. 17, 2004, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference. The system enables agents to simultaneouslyprocess voice contacts from telephonic callers by storing incoming voicesignals for time-shiftable and fast playback. Calls are routed toassigned agents when possible. If an agent is busy, the user is asked tostate his question for storage in one or more queues. An agentsubsequently processes and responds to the question in person, in amanner similar to that utilized in Web chat interactions. Agents respondto voice recordings in the order in which received with additionallyprovided fast playback that enables an agent to catch up with recordedmessages. However, both user and agent messages remain as spoken speechrecorded in an audible, non-textual format and accordingly require thefull attention of the assigned agent.

Accordingly, there is a need for an approach to providing automated callcenter operation that allows highly responsive caller support with aminimum of agent idle time and caller hold time.

There is a further need for an approach to providing efficient callermessage processing using transcribed and synthesized speech utterancesas an internal medium of communication within the automated call center.

SUMMARY

In the described embodiment, an agent and customer communicate throughvoice messages using a digitized voice-driven system. From the customerperspective, the experience appears to be an interaction with anintelligent machine. The interaction is similar to calling a legacyautomated call center system staffed with human agents, but thecustomers are aware that the agent is automated, not human.

Preferably, the system voice is clear and human-like, but isrecognizable as a machine voice. Slight delays in responses can occurcompared to speaking with a human agent, although the customer does nothave to repeat information already provided and is generally not put onhold. Upon request, the system can repeat the information provided tothe customer, and consistently appears to be patient and polite.

Operationally, the system differs from legacy systems. Instead ofproviding full-time voice-to-voice communications, the system givesagents the ability to control a continuum of increasingly automatedresponses in the form of a “sliding” control. For most interactions,every customer speech utterance is recorded and stored, is digitallytranscribed into a text message and is presented to an off-line agentthrough a visual interface on a workstation. The agent can read oroptionally listen to each utterance upon arrival, as well as to previousutterances. As well, the agent can annotate or manually re-transcribeeach of the customer utterances as needed.

Once a session has been established, each human agent can communicateindirectly with customers by typing written responses at theirworkstation. Each written response is converted into speech followingcompletion and is played to the customer.

The agent can also choose pre-formed responses, thereby saving time andcommunicating in a consistent, uniform manner. The pre-formed responsescan include an associated form containing parameterized variable fieldsthat are completed by the agent or by the system to fill in, forexample, dates or names. The completed pre-formed response is convertedinto speech. Alternatively, pre-formed responses can be pre-recorded assound bites and staged in an audio cache for immediate playback.

In addition to indirect communication via their workstation, each humanagent can also accept live calls from customers in a real time,voice-to-voice mode. Live call processing may be required to handlecrises or other service needs that are not amenable to automation, or toprovide those services to customers, which are not generally acceptablewhen provided via automation.

Communication can also occur between a customer and a human agent viatext messaging, such as through the Short Message Service (SMS), as wellas multi-modal communication, which includes a combination of voice andtext messaging. The text communications can be automatically reviewedand stored as a log entry without requiring transcription. Multi-modalcommunication allows a customer to text information to the agent duringthe call session for providing additional data.

Furthermore, when an agent identifies a call that matches a recognizedproblem or frequently asked question, the agent can choose a predefined“script” to prompt and collect or simply provide the customer withinformation in a step-by-step manner. For example, a script could beused to collect a customer's personal information for a creditapplication, or to provide instructions on using a feature of a consumerproduct in a customer support application. Thus, the ability of an agentto interact with customers through manually or automated text responsesconverted into speech or through pre-recorded or live voice responsesprovides a flexible and sliding level of agent control adaptable to awide range of customer service situations.

The system also provides an automatic journaling function. By the timeeach call ends, the system will have collected a complete and fullytranscribed log of the conversation. The human agent need not manuallytranscribe a log entry, as the information contained in thesystem-generated log is already in a format that can be stored in adatabase and can be easily mined for data. Manual annotations can beadded to the log entry, as needed.

Empirically, from an agent perspective, an average customer service calllasts seven minutes when using a legacy call center, of which twominutes are spent on an introduction and setup and an additional twominutes on wrap-up and documentation. The described embodimenteliminates most of the time spent on setup and wrap-up and reduces thetime an agent spends on a call by about 30%. From a customer point ofview, although the overall length of the call may be the same, holdtimes are eliminated while slight yet unobjectionably longer delaysbetween agent's responses may occur.

With the extensive logging and visual presentation to the agent, theagent can keep track of more than one session with a customer. An agentmay handle multiple calls simultaneously, while each customer willhardly notice any degradation in call quality. In the describedembodiment, an agent can handle four calls simultaneously. However, anarbitrarily large number of simultaneous calls could be maintained bythe system for each agent and would only be subject to physicalcomputational constraints, such as available processing power andmemory. Each agent is able to handle multiple calls by not having tolisten to each customer as they speak. Instead, agents can listen to orread transcribed customer utterances and text messages, thereby eachallowing their attention to be split among multiple calls. The abilityto use pre-recorded forms to gather or provide standard informationfurther increases an agent's ability to handle multiple calls. Forexample, while a customer is interacting with a script collectingpersonal information, such as first and last name, social securitynumber, address and phone number, and so forth, the agent can handleother callers.

An embodiment provides a computer-implemented system and method forfacilitating agent-customer calls. A call from a customer is acceptedinto a call center and is assigned to an agent associated with the callcenter. At least one text message is received from the customer duringthe call and is directed to the agent. Outgoing text messages arereceived from the agent in response to the text message from thecustomer and content of the outgoing text messages are converted intosynthesized speech. The synthesized speech is provided to the customerduring the call.

Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein is described embodiments of the invention by way ofillustrating the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention.As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and differentembodiments and its several details are capable of modifications invarious obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and thescope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detaileddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an automated call centeroperational environment.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram showing, by way of example, a typicaluser call sequence, as transacted in the automated call centeroperational environment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing a system for providing amessage-based communications infrastructure for automated call centeroperation, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram showing a system for providing amessage-based communications infrastructure for automated call centeroperation, in accordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram showing variable automation levelsprovided using the system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schema for storing records in thelogging database of the system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram showing, by way of example, the controlflow followed in processing a script using the system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 7A is a screen shot showing, by way of example, a set of callcenter service windows generated by the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7B is a screen shot showing, by way of example, a single callcenter service window with multiple call tabs, generated by the systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing a method for providing a message-basedcommunications infrastructure for automated call center operation, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing a routine for assigning a session foruse in the method of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing a routine for processing a session foruse in the method of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing a routine for processing a session byan agent for use in the routine of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing a routine for processing a session bya script engine for use in the routine of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing a routine for executing a script foruse in the routine of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a mobile messaging system forpresenting output data, in accordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart diagram showing a routine for presenting outputdata using the mobile messaging system of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart diagram showing a routine for displayingpresentation content based on a vehicle condition.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a vehicle system for communicatingwith the system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart diagram showing a method for communicating withthe system of FIG. 3A using the vehicle system of FIG. 17.

APPENDIX A provides a sample grammar for use in the describedembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION System for Providing a Message-Based CommunicationsInfrastructure

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an automated call centeroperational environment 10. By way of example, a multiplicity of userscall into an automated call center 11, preferably through telephonicmeans, which can include voice or text messaging media. The telephonicmeans include Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) 12, cellular andsatellite telephones 13, Internet telephony (IPTel) 14, Voice over IP(VoIP) 15, short message service (SMS) text messaging, and other formsof telephony and voice-based communications, as would be recognized byone skilled in the art. Users could also call or interface to theautomated call center 11 through data transmission means, such as aninternetwork 17, including the Internet. The call can include voicecommunications, text messaging, or a combination of voice and textcommunications.

Independent of call origination, each user call is routed through atelephone company (Telco) public interchange 16 or equivalent callcenter to the automated call center 11. Although shown with reference toa Telco public interchange 16, any other form of telephonic orequivalent call networking system transmitting voice or data signalsover various signal carrier mediums, including conventional land lines;radio, satellite or other forms of signal carriers; light wave or soundwave exchange systems; or equivalents thereof, could also be utilized,as would be recognized by one skilled in the art.

The automated call center 11 provides a single source for support andproblem resolution for customers seeking direct assistance frommanufacturers and service vendors, although automated call centers 11can also be used in other areas of commerce, as would be recognized byone skilled in the art. The terms “user” and “customer” are usedinterchangeably herein and both refer to a caller to the automated callcenter 11. Although the automated call center 11 is shown as a singlepoint within the automated call center operation environment 10, theautomated call center 11 could consist of one or more logicallyinterconnected but physically separate, including geographicallyremoved, operations, which provide a logically unified automated callcenter, as would be recognized by one skilled in the art.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram showing, by way of example, a typicaluser call sequence 20, as transacted in the automated call centeroperational environment 10 of FIG. 1. Upon calling into the automatedcall center 11, each user receives an initial greeting and aninformational message providing a synopsis of caller options. The calleroptions enable the user to navigate through to a specific topic area forassistance or support. Following application, the user engages in acustomer support scenario 22 with an agent, which is either a liveperson or an automated prompt, such as with an automated voice responsesystem, to enable information collection and problem trouble-shooting.Note that the scenario 22 can be delayed by agent unavailability, callervolume capacity limits, and other factors that can delay customerresponse. As required, service provisioning 23 is provided to the user,either directly in the course of the call or indirectly through aservice request dispatch. Finally, the call ends in a wrap-up 24, whichprovides closure to the call and a departing salutation. Other forms andvariations of customer call sequences are feasible, as would berecognized by one skilled in the art. Importantly, however, from theperspective of the caller, the experience appears to be an interactionwith an intelligent machine and the caller is aware that the agent isautomated, not human. Accordingly, a typical caller will have a morerelaxed expectation of agent responsiveness since a machine, and not anactual person, is on the line.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing a system 30 for providing amessage-based communications infrastructure for automated call center 11operation, also referred to as the Messaging Platform for Agent-CustomerTransactions (MPACT) system 30, in accordance with the presentinvention. During regular operation, the MPACT system 30 executesmultiple threads to process multiple simultaneous calls, which arehandled by one or more agents executing agent applications 43 on agentconsoles 39 (shown in FIG. 1). Alternatively, in a further embodiment,multiple MPACT systems 30 execute in parallel to provide enhancedperformance through loosely- or tightly-coupled parallel processing.

The MPACT system 30 consists of the following components: database 34,telephony interface (TI) 35, one or more speech recognition engines(SREs) 36, one or more text-to-speech (TTS) engines 37, audio cache 38,one or more agent consoles 39, and optionally, resource manager 40. Atleast one instance of each component is generally required for the MPACTsystem 11 to operate, except that use of the resource manager 40 isoptional, and is required only on larger systems that incorporate morethan one instance of the other components.

In the described embodiment, a messaging server 31, database 34,telephony interface 35, SREs 36, TTS engines 37 and audio cache 38execute on a single computer system while one or more agent consoles 39executing in parallel on separate computer systems. The differentcomponents communicate over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, whichtypically is implemented over high-speed local Ethernet. The MPACTsystem 30 components run on Intel/AMD-based servers under the Windows2000 Server Operating System and Redhat Linux. Each agent console 39runs on Intel/AMD-based workstations under the Windows 2000 ProfessionalOperating System. Each of the components will now be described infurther detail.

The individual computer systems, including MPACT system 30, are generalpurpose, programmed digital computing devices consisting of a centralprocessing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), non-volatilesecondary storage, such as a hard drive, network interfaces, andperipheral devices, including user interfacing means, such as a keyboardand display. Program code, including software programs, and data areloaded into the RAM for execution and processing by the CPU and resultsare generated for display, output, transmittal, or storage.

Each component is implemented as is a computer program, procedure ormodule written as source code in a conventional programming language,such as the C++ programming language, and is presented for execution bythe CPU as object or byte code, as is known in the art. Alternatively,the components could also be implemented in hardware, either asintegrated circuitry or burned into read-only memory components. Thevarious implementations of the source code and object and byte codes canbe held on a computer-readable storage medium or embodied on atransmission medium in a carrier wave. The MPACT system 30 operates inaccordance with a sequence of process steps, as further described belowwith reference to FIG. 8.

Messaging Server

The messaging server 31 consists of a script engine 32 and sessionmanager 47. The script engine 32 executes scripts 49 incorporating agrammar 33 that defines a set of executable instructions for specifiedand interactive question-and-response dialog, and a session manager 47that includes a message queue 48 for staging transient user and agentmessages. Script pointers (“Ptrs”) 28 that identify the actual scripts49 to be executed by the script engine 32 are maintained locally by eachagent application 43. Alternatively, scripts 29 could be stored in thedatabase 34 and the script pointers 28 would provide database pointersto the scripts 29. The messaging server 31 receives call controlinformation from the telephony interface 35 and tracks logged-off,logged-on and signed-on agents. The messaging server 31 uses thisinformation to establish sessions between agents and customers, asfurther described below with reference to FIG. 4.

The database 34 contains three primary specialized databases: logdatabase (LDB) 44, agent profile database (APDB) 45, and agentapplication database (AADB) 46. The log database 44 provides a runningjournal as a structured log of each accepted call and stores each usermessage and agent message in a uniquely-identified record. Thus, agentsare freed from the task of having to manually transcribe a telephoneconversation following wrap-up. The agent profile database 45 allows themessaging server 31 to authenticate, log-on and sign-on agents intoregistered sessions. The agent application database 46 contains agentapplications 43 that are executed on agent consoles 39. Optionally, thedatabase 34 can also contain scripts 29. Other forms of specializeddatabases are possible, as would be recognized by one skilled in theart. Alternatively, the information stored in the log database 44, agentprofile database 45, and agent application database 46 could bemaintained in structured or unstructured form using a standard file,spreadsheet, or other data assemblage for information storage andretrieval, as is known in the art.

Definitionally, a signed-on agent is registered on the messaging server31 and is actively processing calls. A logged-on agent is registered onthe messaging server 31 but is not accepting calls. A logged-off agentis not registered on the messaging server 31.

For each session, the messaging server 31 receives customer callsthrough the telephony interface 35 and sends a stream of transcribedspeech utterances as user messages to an agent assigned to handle thesession. Note that one or more agents can be assigned to handle anygiven session and a hierarchy of areas of responsibility, such as speechtranscription, customer interaction, controlling scripts, and so forth,can be delegated among several agents to ensure efficient callprocessing. Similarly, the messaging server 31 receives a stream ofsynthesized speech utterances as agent messages from an assigned agentapplication 43 and sends the agent messages to the customer through thetelephony interface 35. The messages typically only contain digitizedvoice; however, Simultaneous Voice and Data (SVD), for example, CallerID, can also be provided. The multiplexing and demultiplexing of SVDmessages is handled at the telephony interface 35 and an agent console39.

The script engine 32 executes individual scripts 49, which incorporate apre-defined grammar 33. The grammar 33 specifies a set of instructionsthat can be used to create question-and-answer dialogs that areexecutable by an agent via the agent application 43 and thereby enablesan agent to process simultaneously multiple calls. The scripts 49 aresubmitted by agents via an agent console 39 using the script pointers 28during processing of customer calls, as further described below withreference to FIG. 6. Each script 49 defines a sequence of synthesizedspeech utterances sent to customers and transcribed speech responsesreceived back as user messages. The speech utterances could bepre-recorded and staged in the audio cache 38. The user messages areused to populate a form (not shown) that is reviewed by the agent duringservice provisioning.

In a further embodiment, a call session can be multi-modal, that is,consisting of voice, text messaging, or a combination of both. Thetelephony interface 35 implements a text messaging gateway, in additionto providing conventional POTS and voice-based telephony services. Thetelephony interface 35 enables the messaging server 31 to accommodateboth voice communications and text messaging, which can be voice- ortext-only, or a combination of voice and text during any single session.Customer calls received by the call center through the telephonyinterface 35 are forwarded to the messaging server 31, which handlestheir processing according to type. For instance, text messages can beforwarded directly to an agent, whereas voice communications can requirevoice recognition processing before being displayable. Although bothtext messages and voice communications can simultaneously originate fromthe same customer, each might travel along a different path to the callcenter, depending upon the underlying telephone service. However,through a text message processor (not shown), the messaging server 31can pair up separate streams of text messages and voice communicationsmatching caller identification data to an on-going caller session.

In one embodiment, text messages are received through the Telco via anSMS gateway (not shown) implemented in the telephony interface 35, orother component, such as a data network gateway (not shown) that isdirectly interfaced to the internetwork 17 or other public datacommunications network. Upon receipt by the call center, the textmessages are transmitted to the messaging server 31 for processing. Aunique caller identification for call session identification is assignedto each text message. The messaging server can match each text messageto an active customer call. For instance, based on shared calleridentification data, the guide to which an active call is assigned canbe located by the database for forwarding the text message to thatguide. The text messages are also added to the database after the callsession has terminated as part of the call log. Post-processing actionscan be performed on saved text messages in a manner similar to voicecommunications. In addition, text messages can be specifically flaggedas verbatim caller data, which would not be unreliable due to, forinstance, improper voice recognition processing.

In a still further embodiment, communication between a customer and anagent at a call center can occur solely through text messaging. The textmessages are similarly identified using unique caller identificationdata and the text messages received during a single call session can bestored together.

In a still further embodiment, a mobile caller, such as a driver of avehicle, can interact with a call center as further described withreference to FIGS. 14-18. The mobile communications can include voicecommunication, text messaging, or a combination of voice and textcommunication. The messaging server 31 is able to retrieve mobile callerinformation in the same fashion as any other caller. However, additionaldata about the caller, which is unique to mobile use, may also beprovided, such as locational data through Global Positioning Satelliteinterface.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram showing a system 160 for providing amessage-based communications infrastructure for automated call centeroperation, in accordance with a further embodiment. A scripting server161 executes as a separate system from the messaging server 31, whichpreferably includes only the session manager 47 and message queue 48.Providing the functionality of the script engine 162 on a scriptingserver 161 enhances overall system throughput and performance bydelegating script processing on a system separate from the messagingserver 31.

The scripting server 161 consists of a dedicated script engine 162,which executes scripts 163 stored locally to the scripting engine 161.The scripts 163 also incorporate the grammar 33. Script pointers(“Ptrs”) 164 that identify the actual scripts 163 to be executed by thescript engine 162 are maintained locally by each agent application 43.Alternatively, scripts 29 (shown in FIG. 3A) could be stored in thedatabase 34 and the script pointers 164 would provide database pointersto the scripts 29.

Telephony Interface

Referring back to FIG. 3A, customer calls are received through thetelephony interface 35, which provides the external connection betweenthe MPACT system 30 and the telephone company 16 (shown in FIG. 1). Theprimary purpose of the telephony interface 35 is to accept and processconventional telephone signals, including multiplexing, call routing,and queuing, as is known in the art. In the described embodiment, thetelephony interface 35 consists of a third party hardware interface andsoftware drivers, plus MPACT proprietary software that connects thethird party package to the messaging server 31 and, in large systems,also to the resource manager 40. The MPACT system 30 supports standardtelephony interface cards, such as analog and T1 Dialogic PCI cards.Optionally, the telephony interface 35 includes an audio cache 41 inwhich pre-recorded “canned” sound bites are stored for efficientplayback. These sound bites provide informational and navigationalmessages to all callers. Optionally, two or more telephony interfaces 35can be used to provide increased user call capacity. Other forms oftelephony interface 35 could be used to accommodate various signalcarrier mediums, including conventional land lines; radio, satellite orother forms of signal carriers; light wave or sound wave exchangesystems; or equivalents thereof, as would be recognized by ones skilledin the art.

Speech Recognition Engine

User calls consist of ordinary spoken words, which must be transcribedinto written text, for display, processing and storage. The purpose ofthe speech recognition engine 36 is to generate a stream of transcribedspeech utterances that are recorded as computer-processable usermessages. In the described embodiment, the speech recognition engine 36consists of third party software and MPACT proprietary software thatconnects the third party package to the agent application 43 and, inlarge systems, also to the resource manager 40. The MPACT system 30supports Speechworks and Nuance speech recognition engines. Optionally,two or more speech recognition engines 36 can be used to provideincreased user call capacity.

In a further embodiment, a speech recognition engine executes on aclient system 18 interfaced to the MPACT system 30 over the internetwork17, or other data transmission means. The MPACT system 30 receivesclient messages already transcribed into text by the client system 18for processing in the same manner as live calls received directlythrough the telephony interface 35.

Text-To-Speech Engine

Each caller into the MPACT system 30 receives feedback in the form ofagent messages, which each consist of a stream of synthesized speechutterances. The synthesized speech utterances include greetings,questions, informational responses, and other spoken phrases that theuser hears during the course of the session. The purpose of thetext-to-speech engine 37 is to generate the stream of synthesized speechutterances formed as agent messages, which can be played back asreproducible audio. The text-to-speech engine 37 consists of third partysoftware and MPACT proprietary software that connects the third partypackage to the agent application 43 and, in large systems, also to theresource manager 40.

MPACT system 30 supports Speechworks' Speechify text-to-speech.Optionally, the text-to-speech engine 37 can include an audio cache 42that stores pre-recorded “canned” sound bites, which provide efficientdelivery of standardized synthesized speech utterances for use inscripts and repetitive agent actions. As well, two or moretext-to-speech engines 37 can be used to provide increased user callcapacity.

In a further embodiment, a text-to-speech engine executes on the clientsystem 18 interfaced to the MPACT system 30 over the internetwork 17, orother data transmission means. The MPACT system 30 sends agent messagesto the client system 18 for synthesis into speech. The synthesizedspeech is heard by the caller on the client system 18 in the same manneras a live call through telephonic means transacted directly through thetelephony interface 35.

Agent Console

Each agent console 39 provides the primary means for direct customerinteraction. The primary purpose of each agent console 39 is to executeone or more agent applications 43, stored in the agent applicationdatabase 46, which display both user and agent messages and providemenus of actions that can be executed responsive to agent commands,including script execution, as further described below with reference toFIG. 6. In the described embodiment, one or more agent applications 43execute on each agent console 39 and one or more agent consoles 39execute in parallel. Alternatively, multiple instances of agentapplications 43 can run on a server machine (not shown) and can beaccessed by agents at agent consoles 39 operating as remote terminals.

Each agent application 43 implements a graphical user interface (GUI)for the human agent. FIG. 7A is a screen shot showing, by way ofexample, a set of call center service windows 91, 92, 93 generated bythe system 10 of FIG. 1. Each call center service window 91, 92, 93appears in a graphical user interface 90 and enables an agent toindirectly interact with a customer calling through the telephonyinterface 35. Following sign-on, via the agent application 43, an agentcan accept new session requests from the messaging server 31 and createa visual session container for each session.

In the described embodiment, up to four sessions can be presented to anagent simultaneously. Preferably, the agent can view the contents of allsessions on a single screen. One session is designated as the activesession and accepts agent commands, such as an instruction to listen toa transcribed user message, play a synthesized agent message to thecustomer, or activate a script through a menu 94, as further describedbelow with reference to FIG. 6. The agent can switch active sessionswith a single keystroke or pointer click.

The multiple call sessions can also be displayed one at a time in theuser graphical interface. FIG. 7B is a screen shot showing, by way ofexample, a single call center service window 95 with multiple call tabs,generated by the system 10 of FIG. 1. The call center service window 95is displayed in a graphical user interface to enable an agent tocommunicate with a customer. Multiple call tabs 96 are located near thetop of the window 95 to indicate multiple active call sessions. Eachcall session can be identified by a corresponding customer name, phonenumber, or identification number, as well as by other identifiers. Thecall session identifiers can be displayed in the call tabs. Each callcenter service window 95 also includes caller identification fields 97,a caller profile 98, and a reason for the call 99. To navigate to adifferent call center service window from the window 95 displayed, theagent can select the appropriate call tab 96 corresponding to the callsession.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, each agent application 43 receives a streamof transcribed speech utterances from the telephony interface 35 via themessaging server 31. In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the streamof transcribed speech utterances bypasses the messaging server 31 and isreceived directly from the telephony interface 35. The messaging server31 communicates with the speech recognition engine 36 to transcribe theutterances before sending the transcribed utterances to the agentapplication 43. In turn, the agent application 43 sends agent messagesto the telephony interface 35 via the messaging server 31. The messagingserver 31 communicates with the text-to-speech engine 37 to convert anagent message into a stream of synthesized speech utterances prior toforwarding to the telephony interface 35.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram showing variable automation levels 50provided using the system 30 of FIG. 3A. A typical caller sequenceproceeds in three stages: input 51, processing 52, and output 53. Duringthe processing stage 52, the system 30 provides each agent with a“sliding” control 64 that can vary the level of automation used incustomer service provisioning. At one end of the sliding control 64, theagent must manually type each written response to a user inquiry and, atthe other end, the system 30 directly carries out customer interactionsin a fully-automated fashion.

The sliding control 64 accommodates the need to provide linear andnon-linear processing to flexibly and dynamically tailor calltransaction processing. Non-linear processing occurs when a callerdeparts from an expected course of action, such as by providing atangential response to a question in a script requesting specificinformation. The agent would read the user message and alter the courseof script processing to accommodate the tangential response, therebyenhancing the comfort level of the customer towards problem resolution.Linear processing occurs when the system 30 interacts directly with thecaller through pre-defined scripts and is able to successfully completea series of steps towards problem resolution along a pre-defined courseof action. During a course of a call, both linear and non-linearprocessing can be used strategically to increase user confidence leveland to sufficiently process a larger volume of caller traffic thanpossible with a fully manual and fully non-linear call processingapproach.

During the input stage 51, speech 54 is received into the automated callcenter 11 (shown in FIG. 1), either by a human operator 55 or a machine56, such as the MPACT system 30. The speech 54 is converted into astream of transcribed speech utterances or “normal” text annotations 57.The text annotations 57 are machine-processable as inputs to theprocessing stage 52. A message manager (not shown) associates incomingthe audible speech utterances with the text annotations 57 and theassociated incoming audible speech utterances are provided with the textannotations 57 to the agent for optional playback.

Processing generally involves the execution of some form of action, suchas a script execution, as further described below with reference to FIG.5. During the processing stage 52, either a human operator 58, that is,an agent, or a machine 59 interprets each annotation 57 and generates aresponse or query 60. The response or query 60 is received in the outputstage 53, either by a human operator 61, that is, an agent, or a machine62. Finally, the response or query 60 is formed into synthesized speechutterances 63 that are played back to the caller.

In the described embodiment, the three stages of call processing, input51, processing 52, and output 53, are performed by machines 56, 59, 62,although adjunctive processing can be performed by human operators 55,58, 61, as necessary to supplement the MPACT system 30. Thus, a slidingcontrol 64 of human operator and machine interaction can be provided toautomate call center operations. Using the sliding control 64, the agentcan change the behavior of the script engine 32 (shown in FIG. 3A) bybeginning execution of a script 29, adjusting the point of executionwithin a script 29, or by causing a portion of the script 29 to berepeated. The agent can thereby alter the ordinarily sequential controlflow of script processing by intervening as necessary, based on thecurrent context of the call, or can allow script processing to proceedin a linear fashion.

In addition to indirect communication via an agent console 39, eachagent can also accept live calls from customers directly through thetelephony interface 35 in a real time, voice-to-voice mode. Live callprocessing may be required to handle crises or other service needs thatare not amenable to automation, or to provide those services tocustomers, which are not generally acceptable when provided viaautomation.

In a further embodiment, the agent communicates with callers executingon client systems 18 through text message exchange transacted over theinternetwork 17, or other data transmission means. Unlike conventionalchat sessions, caller processing is transacted in the same manner inwhich telephonic calls received through the telephony interface 35 aretransacted. Consequently, the agent can apply the sliding control 64over automation level to ensure a continuum of non-linear to linear callprocessing independent of the actual call transmission means. Variousarrangements and combinations of call transmission means can thereforebe accommodated, as would be recognized by one skilled in the art.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, as a first step, an agent, via an agentconsole 39, authenticates to the messaging server 31 prior to loggingon. Following log-on, the agent indicates availability to handling callsby signing on to the messaging server 31. Thereafter, calls that havebeen accepted into the automated call center 11 (shown in FIG. 1) areassigned to a session, and the session is subsequently assigned to asigned-on agent.

After the initial communication between the agent and the customer, anagent application 43 ordinarily loads a script describing the sessionflow from the application database 45, either according to agentinstructions or based on information provided by the telephony interface35, such as Caller ID. The agent application 43 communicates further viathe messaging server 31 with the speech recognition engine 36 andtext-to-speech engine 37 to transcribe text-to-speech and convertspeech-to-text, as necessary. Communication between the agentapplication 49 and the speech recognition engine 36 and text-to-speechengine 37 continues until the call terminates.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schema 70 for storing records in thelog database 44 of the MPACT system 30 of FIG. 3A. Each session isidentified by a session identifier (ID) 71, which uniquely identifieseach session, such as a sequentially-increasing number. In addition,each record contains a message identifier (ID) 72, time stamped 73,sender or receiver flag 74, and content 75, typically constituting audiodata, text data or notes transcribed by the agent. Other types ofidentifiers, formation and content can be stored in a record, as wouldbe recognized by one skilled in the art.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, each agent application 43 also contains asupervisor mode that can be used to manually monitor system behavior andperformance, control agent application 43 and messaging server 31operation, monitor and guide human agents actions, and perform similaradministrative tasks. A separate administrator application (not shown)enables system setup and configuration.

Finally, each agent application 43 can execute scripts 49 to perform apre-defined sequence of instructions, generally consisting ofquestion-and-response dialogues through which a customer is queriedregarding a concern or to troubleshoot a problem. FIG. 6 is a processflow diagram showing, by way of example, the control flow 80 followed inprocessing a script 49 using the system 30 of FIG. 3A. During theinitial stage of processing, a customer 82 indirectly interacts with anagent 81 through the execution of an initial script 83. The purpose ofthe initial script 83 is to populate a standard form 84 with generalinformation regarding the nature of the call. Upon reviewing the form84, the agent 81 executes, via the agent application 43, one or moreadditional scripts 87 to provide problem resolution or troubleshootingand to receive further information via additional forms 88. Finally, theagent, via the agent application 43, generates a resolution form 86 thatis used as parameters to a closing script 85, which is executed forplayback to the customer 82 to complete the call.

In the described embodiment, each form 84, 86, 88 is structured as adata containment object that stores data relevant to the agentapplication 43. Preferably, each data containment object is maintainedas a binary large object (BLOB) interpretable by each agent application43 based on business requirements. Significantly, the use of scripts,forms and agent interaction enables a non-linear execution path throughproblem resolution and troubleshooting. As necessary, an agent, throughthe agent application 43, can manually enter data into a form andprogressively modify the sequence of problem resolution andtroubleshooting. The amount of manual agent intervention follows fromthe sliding control 64 implemented in the MPACT system 30, as describedabove with reference to FIG. 4.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, the script engine 32 executes each script 49,which incorporate the grammar 33. By way of example, a sample grammarfor use in the described embodiment is provided in Appendix A. Otherforms of grammars and scripting languages could be used, as would berecognized by one skilled in the art.

Resource Manager

The resource manager 40 provides scalability, load balancing andredundancy in large systems comprising multiple speech recognitionengines 36, text-to-speech engines 37, and telephony interfaces 35. Inthe described embodiment, the messaging server 31 has a built-in simpleresource manager 40 (not shown) to manage multiple agent applications 43operating in smaller call capacity systems.

Using an administration application that controls the resource manager40, an administrator can set and configure the system while operational.The resource manager 40 enables the administrator to add or removeservers and to reroute connections between different components, forinstance, between telephony interface 35, messaging server 31 and agentapplication 43.

Audio Cache

The audio cache 38 provides a centralized repository in whichpre-recorded “canned” sound bites are stored for efficient playback.These sound bites provide both informational and navigational messagesto all callers and standardized synthesized speech utterances for use inscripts and repetitive agent actions. The sound bites in the audio cache38 are retrievable by the telephony interface 35, text-to-speech engine37 and agent application 43.

System Configuration and Capacity

In a typical system, different components run on separate machines. Atypical medium-sized system consists of one server running a telephonyinterface 35 and messaging server 31, a separate server for the speechrecognition engine 36, another server for the text-to-speech engine 37,and a fourth server for the log, agent profile, and agent applicationdatabases 44, 45, 46, respectively. Alternatively, a minimal system runsall the components on a single server, along with an agent application43 on an integrated agent console 39.

In the described embodiment, each medium-sized system configuration is“24×6,” meaning that the system can handle 24 simultaneous calls and caninterface with six human agents. A minimal system configuration is“4×1,” that is, four simultaneous calls with one human agent, while alarge system configuration is “96×24,” that is, 96 simultaneous callsand 24 human agents. Through the resource manager 40, an aggregation ofthe above-described configurations enables much larger call capacitysystems.

By mixing proprietary technologies and existing systems, the MPACTsystem 30 reduces the average call time by 30%, increases agentefficiency up to four-fold, and significantly improves customersatisfaction.

Method for Providing a Message-Based Communications Infrastructure

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing a method for providing a message-basedcommunications infrastructure 100 for automated call center operation,in accordance with the present invention. The method is executed by theMPACT system 30 and individual operations are executed by the variouscomponents, specifically described below. During regular operation, theMPACT system 30 processes multiple simultaneous calls, which are handledby one or more agents executing agent applications 43 on an agentconsole 39 (shown in FIG. 1).

Generally, the method 100 proceeds by iteratively processing each callin a continuous processing cycle. During each cycle, a call is received(block 101) and assigned to a session (block 102) by the session manager47 (shown in FIG. 3A), as further described below with reference to FIG.9. Next, the session is processed (block 103), as further describedbelow with reference to FIG. 10. Following session processing, the callends (block 104) and further call are processed (block 105) until theMPACT system 30 is shut down or no further calls are received. Themethod then terminates. In the described embodiment, the MPACT is amulti-threaded system, employing multiple threads, which eachindependently execute the method 100.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing a routine for signing a session 110 foruse in the method 100 of FIG. 8. The purpose of the routine is toinstantiate a new session object for processing by an agent application43 (shown in FIG. 3A) and to subsequently assign the instantiatedsession to an agent operating on an agent console 39.

Initially, if any agent is available (block 111), one of the agents ispicked as the assigned agent (block 112) and the new session is created(block 113). Subsequently, the selected agent is assigned to thenewly-created session (block 114). The routine then returns. If noagents are available (block 111), the customer is presented with theoption of interfacing to a non-agent (block 115), that is, an automatedvoice response system, which provides the information specificallyrequested by the customer (block 116), after which the routine returns.Otherwise, if the customer prefers an agent (block 115), the customerenters into a waiting queue (block 117) until an agent becomesavailable.

Note that both the customers and agents can be prioritized usingpredefined selection criteria. For instance, customers who have enrolledin premium support service can received a higher priority in the waitingqueue than other customers. As well, specialized problem-resolutionagents can be prioritized for servicing particular customer needs forconsideration during selection of agent assignment.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing a routine 125 for processing a session120 for use in the method 100 of FIG. 8. The purpose of the routine isto iteratively store and forward messages using the message queue 48(shown in FIG. 3A). Other forms of queuing and message handling andprioritization are possible, as would be recognized by one skilled inthe art.

During each iteration, the session manger 47 (shown in FIG. 3A) waitsfor a message, either a user message or agent message (block 121). Uponreceipt, the message is placed in the message queue 48 (block 122) andthe recipient of the message is notified (block 123). If the message isa user message being sent to an agent (block 124), the message isprocessed by the agent assigned to the session to which the user messagecorresponds (block 125), as further described below with reference toFIG. 11. Iterative processing continues with each subsequent message(block 126), after which the routine returns.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing a routine for processing a session byan agent 130 for use in the routine 125 of FIG. 10. The purpose of theroutine is to facilitate the interaction between an agent and customerthough an agent application executing on an agent console 39 (shown inFIG. 3A).

First, the notification message is displayed (block 131) on thegraphical user interface 90 (shown in FIG. 7) of the agent application43. As necessary, the agent sends agent messages to the customer fromservice provider or script engine 32 (shown in FIG. 3A) to provideappropriate handling of the user message (block 132). If the sentmessage consists of a request to execute a script 49 (block 132), themessage is further processed by the script engine 32 (block 134), asfurther described below with reference to FIG. 12. The routine thenreturns.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing a routine for processing a session bya script engine 140 for use in the routine 130 of FIG. 11. The purposeof this routine is to iteratively process each script execution requestusing the script engine 32 on behalf of requesting agent applications 43(shown in FIG. 3A).

Each message thread is iteratively processed (blocks 141-146) asfollows. During each iteration (block 141), the notes field of eachmessage is retrieved (block 142) and, if a script execution request isfound (block 143), a script 49 is executed (block 144), as furtherdescribed below with reference to FIG. 13. Otherwise, if no scriptrequest is present (block 143), no operation occurs (block 145).Processing continues with each additional message thread (block 146),after which the routine returns.

Although described above with reference to the linear processing of ascript in sequential order, agent intervention in script processing isfully supported. The agent continues to monitor the progress of thescript execution by observing user responses and can intervene asnecessary to accommodate a non-scripted response. For example, the usermay provide a tangential response to a question in the script requestingspecific information. The agent would read the user message and alterthe course of script processing to accommodate the tangential responseto the sliding control 64 (shown in FIG. 4).

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing a routine for executing a script 150for use in the routine 140 of FIG. 12. The purpose of this routine is toperform standard retrieve-and-interpret script instruction execution, asis known in the art.

First, each instruction is retrieved (block 151) and executed (block152). In the described embodiment, instruction execution follows from aninterpretable stored grammar 33 (shown in FIG. 3A) and as provided, byway of example, in Appendix A. If the executing instruction is a “Quit”instruction (block 153), the script execution terminates and the routinereturns. Otherwise, script processing continues with the nextinstruction (block 154).

The automated call center can also be helpful to mobile users to providedirections, event information, and assistance, as well as to performconcierge and other services for the mobile user. FIG. 14 is a blockdiagram showing a mobile messaging system for presenting output data, inaccordance with a further embodiment. The mobile messaging system (MMS)161 can include a user interface 162 having a microphone 164 forcapturing the user's voice; a display 165; speakers 166; and aninterface entry 167 for allowing the user to perform various interactivefunctions. The MMS 161 also includes a processor 168; a globalpositioning system (GPS) 169 for determining precise vehicle locations;and a communications device 163, such as a cellular modem, fortransmitting and receiving wireless information. The MMS 161 is alsocoupled to receive information from other vehicle systems (not shown),such as a speedometer, an engine, or a braking system. FIG. 15 is a flowchart diagram showing a method for presenting output data using thesystem of FIG. 14. The processor 168 of the MMS 161 receivespresentation content (block 171). The presentation content is preferablyreceived by the communications device 163 from a server transmitted overa network (not shown). The processor 168 determines if any vehicleemergency condition exists for a vehicle (block 172) based oninformation received from vehicle systems other than the MMS. If theprocessor 168 determines that a vehicle emergency condition exists, theprocessor 168 stops all output of received presentation content (block173) to any one of the components of the user interface 162. Examples ofa vehicle emergency condition that can cause the processor to stopoutput of the presentation content to the user interface 162 are signalsreceived from the engine that indicate engine overheating or a signalthat indicates the driver of the vehicle has applied brakes to the pointwhere an anti-braking system is activated. After the output is stopped,the processor 168 can again receive presentation content (block 171).

If the processor 168 determines that there is not a vehicle emergencycondition, the processor 168 receives vehicle condition information(block 174). The vehicle condition information comes from a number ofsources that generate signals, such as a GPS 169 or speedometer. Theprocessor 168 outputs the presentation content through the userinterface 162 based on the vehicle condition information (block 175).The substance and format of the presentation content displayed on thedisplay 165 or broadcast on the speakers system 166 of the userinterface 162 is determined. For example, when the vehicle is parked,the processor 138 presents all or nearly all of the receivedpresentation content. As the vehicle condition changes, for example, byincreasing speed, the processor 138 changes the presentation of thecontent information shown on the display 165.

The change in presentation content can also involve shifting thepresentation of the information from a visual display to an audiobroadcast, as output through the speakers 166. In a further example, thepresented content includes a full detailed map of the vehicle's locationwith directions to a previously requested destination. Based on thevehicle speed, or the rate of change of the vehicle speed or direction,the detail of the presented content shown on the map can be altered. Asthe vehicle speed increases, the detail shown on the map is reduced, forexample, to include only the vehicle's present location in relation tonearby streets and intersections. Some or all of the presentationcontent, or map directions, may be translated to an audio format andbroadcast to the vehicle operator via the speakers 166. In otherexamples, the size and font of the text, icons, and graphics presentedon the display can be altered as the vehicle condition changes, asdescribed with further reference to FIG. 16. Audio outputs can also bealtered, such as by an increase or decrease in audio broadcast based ona change in the vehicle condition. After presenting the output, theprocessor 168 returns to receiving additional presentation content(block 171). The presentation content can be processed in real-time fromthe time the content is received over the network by the server to theoutput of the presentation content to a vehicle operator through theuser interface 162. In a further embodiment, the presentation contentcan be received at one time and stored by the processor 168 before anydetermination is made of how to present the output. In a still furtherembodiment, a person other than the vehicle operator can view thepresentation content based on a set level of detail.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart diagram showing a routine for displayingpresentation content based on a vehicle condition. The speed of avehicle is determined (block 181), for example, by reference to thevehicle speedometer. If the vehicle's speed is less than or equal to 25miles per hour (mph), the processor 168 generates a detailed display ofthe presentation content on the display 165 of the user interface 162(block 182). As the speed of the vehicle increases, the amount ofdetailed visual information generated for display is reduced. Thus, ifthe vehicle speed is greater than 25 mph but less than or equal to 40mph, the processor 168 generates a display of the presentation contentwith less visual information (block 183) than was generated for thedisplay corresponding to vehicle speeds of less than or equal to 25 mph.When the speed is greater than 40 mph but less than or equal to 70 mph,the processor 168 reduces the amount of detail of the presentationcontent to be displayed on the display 165, by increasing the font sizeof the text included in the displayed presentation content and changingthe color of the text (block 184). The increased font size and colorchange provides a display that is easily viewable to the user at highspeeds. When the speed is greater than 70 mph, the processor 168 stopsgenerating display information for presentation on the display 165 andswitches to a pure audio presentation for output over the speakers 166(block 185). The specific speed ranges described are used only as anexample and should not be construed as limiting. The exact triggerspeeds can vary according to various factors, such as road conditions,vehicle specification, or vehicle operator skill, as well as userpreferences. Likewise, the output format of the presentation content maybe varied according to user interface hardware or software constraints,as well as user preferences.

In addition to the vehicle example described above, the presentationcontent can be automatically adjusted based upon one or more vehicleconditions related to a rate of change in vehicle speed, rate of changein vehicle direction, cellular phone or headphone activation, radardetector activation, noise level decibels above a certain value, radioor compact disc usage, television or video disc usage, and turn signalsas well as other conditions. The vehicle conditions can be determined byvehicle systems, such as the vehicle speedometer, steering system,engine, braking system, and acceleration system. The vehicle systems canalso include additional components, such as a temperature gauge,humidity gauge, wind speed gauge, precipitation gauge, compass, andclock. These additional vehicle system components can be integrated withor separate from the MMS 161, so long as they are capable of beingmonitored by the MMS 161. Other vehicle conditions, vehicle systems, andcomponents are possible.

Output of the presentation content can be automatically adjusted basedupon one of the vehicle conditions or a combination of the vehicleconditions. For example, the MMS 161 monitors vehicle braking andacceleration systems with reference to an internal clock to determinethe rate of change of the vehicle's speed. If the vehicle speed isincreasing or decreasing rapidly, the MMS 161 automatically reduces theamount of detail provided in visual presentation content, and cantransfer some or all of the presentation content to an audiopresentation. In another example, the MMS 161 monitors the movement ofthe steering wheel and vehicle direction with reference to a compass anda clock to determine a rate of change of the vehicle direction. If thevehicle direction is changing rapidly, the MMS 161 can automaticallyreduce the amount of detail provided in the visual presentation content,as well as transfer some or all of the presentation content to an audiopresentation.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a vehicle system for communicatingwith the system of FIG. 3A. The vehicle system 191 includes a userinterface 192 and a processor 193. The user interface 192 includes amicrophone that receives voice instructions from a user and sends theinstructions to the processor 193. The processor 193 performs voiceprocessing of the received voice signals and outputs the processed voicesignals over a speaker system or a visual display via the user interface192. The processor 193 can also send the processed voice signals over awireless network 194 to an operator 196 at an operator system 195.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart diagram showing a method for communicating withthe system of FIG. 3A. First, a user inputs voice instructions (block201) into the vehicle system 191 via the user interface 192. Next, theprocessor 193 performs voice recognition processing (block 202) on thereceived voice instructions to determine the content of theinstructions. Results from the voice recognition processing is presentedto the user (block 203) via the user interface 192 in the form of verbalcommunication over a speaker system or text messaging on a visualdisplay. The user can determine whether the voice instructions werecorrectly interpreted (block 204). If the processor 193 has interpretedthe inputted voice instructions properly, the user can instruct thevehicle system 191 to send the processed instructions to a predefineddestination, such as a server (block 208). Other destinations arepossible. Otherwise, the user has an opportunity to contact a humanoperator to make sure the instructions are properly entered (block 205).If the user decides to contact the human operator, a digest of theinteraction between the user and the processor 193 is sent to a humanoperator 196 (block 206) at an operator system 195. The user isconnected to the human operator (block 206), who is tending the operatorsystem 195, including a phone and a computer terminal. The user and thehuman operator resolve the content of the user-initiated instructions.If the user does not want to be connected to a human operator, the usercan return to providing new voice instructions (block 201).

In a further embodiment, the processor 193 processes a new voiceinstruction based on a same or similar voice instruction that waspreviously recorded. For example, on five previous episodes, the userprovided a certain voice instruction about a restaurant. The processor193 made a first determination as to what the user requested for each ofthe five episodes. In the first four of the five episodes, the userdesired directions to the restaurant. In the fifth episode, the userdesired stock information about the publicly traded company that ownsthe restaurant. The approved results, of the processed voiceinstruction, including four requests for directions and one request forstock information are recorded by the processor 193 with the voiceinstruction for each episode. The next time the user provides that samevoice instruction, the processor 193 can use the previously recordedapproved results for processing the new voice instruction.

Various methods of using the previously recorded approved results can beperformed. In a first method, the most frequently recorded resultbecomes the result of the newly provided specific voice instruction. So,using the example above, directions are provided to the user, becausethe recorded results show requests for directions to the restaurantoccurring more frequently than requests for stock information, or othertypes of requests. In a second method, a most recent recorded resultbecomes the result of the newly provided specific voice instruction. So,using the example above, stock information is provided to the user,because the last recorded result was a request for stock information.

With respect to the first four episodes described above, the processor193 processes the voice instruction as either a request for directionsor as a request for something other than directions. If the voiceinstruction was processed as a request for directions, the user canapprove of the processing, and the resulting request for directions tothe restaurant is recorded with the voice instruction for that episode.If the voice instruction was processed as a request for something otherthan directions, the user can make a further request to the processor193 to provide directions, thereby indicating that the processing of thevoice instructions was incorrect.

The user can indicate that the processing was incorrect in a number ofdifferent ways. A user can correct the processing by contacting a humanoperator (block 205). The human operator can make the change for thatepisode and the change is recorded. A correction can also be made bysubmitting a subsequent voice instruction request to the processor 193for reinterpreting the original voice instruction. Returning to theprevious example, once the voice instruction has been corrected bychanging to a request for directions and the user approves of thechange, the result of the directions to the restaurant is recorded withthe voice instruction for that episode.

Communication between a driver of a vehicle and an agent at a callcenter can occur through messaging. As the agent and the drivercommunicate, their voices are captured, digitized, compressed and sentto a server. The server routes the voice segments to a call center agentdesktop application, which includes a human call center agent sitting infront of an agent console, including a screen, keyboard, speaker,microphone, and headset. The agent can interact with multiple vehicles,each vehicle represented by a session on the agent's screen. Eachcommunication session is represented by a window that displays iconsrepresenting the received utterances from the vehicle.

The agent can listen to a specific utterance by selecting thecorresponding icon with a mouse. In a further embodiment, the voice fromthe driver of the vehicle is first processed by a speech to textrecognition engine then placed as text into that window.

To reply to a specific driver of a vehicle, the agent types in thecorresponding window for that vehicle. The typed text is converted tovoice output by a text to speech server, compressed, and sent back tothe vehicle. The typed text is first stored in the TCU, thendecompressed and played to the driver. In a further embodiment, theoperator can speak the reply rather than typing a response. Both thedriver and the operator can listen to an utterance of the message againby asking their respective device to replay the utterance.

The agent can interact with multiple vehicles simultaneously. A log ofeach conversational session can be kept by the agent at the call center,as well as by the driver of the vehicle participating in thatconversation. The agent or the driver can listen to previously storedinstructions. The agent can be much more efficient since he does notneed to ask the driver to repeat the utterance or to apologize forputting the driver on hold (the efficiency is implied by the half duplexmessage oriented nature of the communication.)

Agent messaging allows agents to multitask between several customerssimultaneously using multiple windows. The customers can eachcommunicate with an agent through voice media. The agents receive thevoice messages from multiple customers, which are queued up for theagents to peruse in sequence. Other related features are possible, suchas limited agent control of other client applications.

Communication between a customer and a call center agent can include twoapplication programs: one for the customer (TCU), client, and one forthe agent, server. The server is designed for store-and-forward messagepassing between individual customers and agents. The agent's applicationprogram can include some form of Windows, executable with a non-browserGUI. The customer application program is an application running on theTCU. Messages from the customers to the agents can be audio recordings,while messages from the agents to the customers are primarily textmessages passed through a text-to-speech engine. However, other methodsof communication are possible, including allowing agents to send audiomessages and customers to send text messages.

For example, a customer contacts an agent because he is lost and wantsdirections to a specific location. The customer's position and recentmovements can be uploaded for review by the agent. Based on thecustomer's position, the agent can control a navigation application andprovide directions to the specific location.

In a further example, a customer's vehicle has failed or was involved inan accident; however, emergency services do not need to be summoned. Thevehicle information is uploaded based on a connection to a CAN bus. Thecustomer position is also uploaded.

In yet a further example, an agent can perform a concierge service forthe customer, which can be handled quickly, such a securing tickets to ashow. Obtaining the tickets can often take under five minutes; however,other times are possible. External services, such as a ticket Web pagecan be used by the agent via the agent console. The agent can access thecustomer's Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or other form of electronicscheduling device through synchronization to determine the customer'savailability to attend the show. The PDA can include information such ascalendar items, addresses, or phone numbers. The agent can also accessthe customer's preferences and information, such as credit cardinformation and email for conducting the service. Once the tickets areobtained, a confirmation of the service is sent to the customer via anemail.

In yet a further example, an agent can perform a concierge service forthe customer, which takes a long time, such as placing reservations at arestaurant that is not answering their phone. Services that take over 30minutes to complete can be considered long-term services. Other timelimits can be used. The agent follows the same steps for the short-termconcierge services; however, a pause session is usually required due tothe length of time required to complete the service. The agent caninitiate a session restart once the service has been completed.

Communication between the customer and the agent can includetransmitting a new customer voice request, position, and vehicleinformation to the agent. The agent can have control of other customervehicle applications at the same time as the receipt of the newcustomer's voice request. During each session, the agent can useexternal services via the agent console. Access to each customer's PDAcan be obtained through synchronization. The agents can view customerdata from the PDA, including phone numbers, schedule items, to-do items,and other data. Customer preferences can also be obtained to assist incompleting the request. Once the request is complete, the agent can senda confirmation, such as a summary notice by email. If the requestrequires a large period of time to complete, client disconnection canoccur with intermittent reconnection to check for delayed responses.

Message requests from multiple clients can be queued for handling by asingle agent. A client for the customer and a client for the agent cancommunicate with a single server. The agent sends back a reply message,which is queued for later playback, when the driver is ready.Problematic voice-recognition situations to the agent, such asunrecognizable voice data, can be automatically handed-off to an agentwho is informed of the context. Data can be considered unrecognizable ifthe data is not understood correctly after three attempts. Otherclassifications of unrecognizable data are possible.

The agent can access and control each customer profile. Incomingrequests from customers can be prioritized by factors, such as timeconstraints, as well as other factors. For example, the agent candesignate customer X as needing a quick turnaround of all responses.Customer X's requests are inserted close to the head of the queue ratherthan at the end.

The agent application program can include scripts, shortcuts, and othertools for providing common responses, such as “I'm sorry sir, there areno tickets for that performance. Is there another time which might alsowork?” The agent can annotate the communication for review by themselvesor others, or to refresh their context when restarting a paused session.

The communication between the customer and the agent can be archived forsome period of time. The archived communication can be used to review ormake a copy of old communication. If available, the agent can invisiblyserve as a voice recognition tool for another application. For example,a customer requests weather information for a city. After a secondfailed attempt to recognize the data, the agent receives the audio forthe customers' third attempt with the annotation for a city.

If the customer is arranging a scheduled item, such as reservations forthe theatre or another event, the agent can automatically check forconflicts with the customer's schedule on the customer's PDA. The agentmay not know what the conflicting item is, only that a conflict exists.

An agent starts the agent application program, using an agentidentifier, such as a login name or other identifier, recognizable bythe server. The agent application program manages a queue of lines ofcommunication with multiple customers. When a customer wishes to talkwith an agent, the client application negotiates with the server toestablish a session with a particular agent. Each customer may have aregular or default agent who is familiar with that customer, though theworkload should be balanced across all working agents. The agent's workincludes pushing a ‘next message’ button, which brings up the nextmessage in the queue. When pressed, the agent gets the most recent audiofrom the customer presented to them. On the agent's screen is atranscript of the conversation with this customer. The transcript is acombination of the customer's audio recordings and the agent'stext-based responses and commands. The transcript of the communicationwill likely be interleaved, so the application program will allow theagent to select specific lines of the transcript. If the transcript is atext message, the full text will be displayed, or if the transcript isaudio communication, the customer's audio recoding will be replayed. Thetranscript can be scrolled back indefinitely, even to a previous sessionon a previous day, week, or as storage permits, as well as other times.Besides the transcript, other information about the queue is available,such as how many other customers are waiting, average wait time, orrelative priorities of the customers in the queue, as well as otherinformation.

The agent can also have information about the customer from a databaseavailable through the agent's console. The information can include, forexample, customer and family names, preferred salutations, and addressesof important locations, as well as other information. The agentapplication program allows agents to respond to customers, either toenter text directly, to respond with shortcuts that have common phrases,to incorporate the customer's profile information, and to respond withcommands that may cause functional changes on the client machine, suchas by specifying a new destination for the navigation component or bydownloading an address to their PDA, as well as other types ofresponses. The agent can modify the customer's relative priority in thequeue. Thus, based on how quickly the customer needs a response themessage can enter the queue at a higher priority and thus skip ahead ofother customers. For example, customer A has car engine difficultieswhile customer B wants to purchase a compact disc. The request fromcustomer A enters the agent's queue at a higher priority than therequest from customer B.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described asreferenced to the embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

APPENDIX

-   To specify an alert message string, use:

ALERT string

-   To specify an unconditional branch to label, use:

GOTO label

-   To specify a conditional cond branch to label, use:

IF cond THEN GOTO label

-   To specify a label string for a branch, use:

LABEL string

-   To terminate execution, use:

QUIT

-   To specify a synthesized speech utterance string, use:

SAY string

-   To specify a script name string, use:

SCRIPTNAME string

-   To specify a variable name varname, use:

SET varname

-   To specify a subscript scriptname, use:

SUBSCRIPT scriptname

-   To specify a wait condition string, use:

WAITFOR string <YES|NO|DATE|PHONENUM|CUSTID>

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented system for facilitatingagent-customer calls, comprising: a telephony interface to accept a callfrom a customer into a call center; an assignment module to assign thecall to an agent associated with the call center; a message module toreceive from the customer at least one text message during the call; amessaging server to direct the text message to the agent; atext-to-speech engine to receive outgoing text messages from the agentin response to the text message from the customer and to convert contentof at least one of the outgoing text messages from the agent intosynthesized speech; and providing the synthesized speech to the customerduring the call.
 2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: aclassification module to flag the at least one text message as verbatimcustomer data.
 3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: adatabase to store a record of the call and to further store the at leastone received text message.
 4. A system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a post processor to perform processing of at least one ofthe call and the at least one text message upon termination of the call.5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: an automationmodule to vary a level of automation in providing the response to thecustomer via the agent.
 6. A system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a receipt module to receive speech utterances from thecustomer during the call; and a further receipt module to receive the atleast one text message via a communication stream that is different fromthe communication stream of the speech utterances.
 7. A system accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a receipt module to receive speechutterances from the customer during the call; a speech recognitionmodule to generate a stream of transcribed speech utterances from thereceived speech utterances; and an utterance module to provide thestream of transcribed speech utterances to the agent.
 8. A systemaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the outgoing text messagesfrom the agent is based on a script selected by the agent.
 9. A systemaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the outgoing text messagescomprises text manually entered by the agent.
 10. A system according toclaim 1, further comprising: an assignment module to assign a furthercall to the agent during the accepted call from the customer.
 11. Acomputer-implemented method for facilitating agent-customer calls,comprising: accepting a call from a customer into a call center;assigning the call to an agent associated with the call center;receiving from the customer at least one text message during the call;directing the text message to the agent; receiving outgoing textmessages from the agent in response to the text message from thecustomer; converting content of at least one of the outgoing textmessages from the agent into synthesized speech; and providing thesynthesized speech to the customer during the call.
 12. A methodaccording to claim 11, further comprising: flagging the at least onereceived text message as verbatim customer data.
 13. A method accordingto claim 11, further comprising: storing a record of the call in adatabase; and storing the at least one received text message in thedatabase with the call record.
 14. A method according to claim 11,further comprising: performing processing of at least one of the calland the at least one text message upon termination of the call.
 15. Amethod according to claim 11, further comprising: varying a level ofautomation in providing the response to the customer via the agent. 16.A method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving speechutterances from the customer during the call; and receiving the at leastone text message via a communication stream that is different from thecommunication stream of the speech utterances.
 17. A method according toclaim 11, further comprising: receiving speech utterances from thecustomer during the call; generating a stream of transcribed speechutterances from the received speech utterances via speech recognition;and providing the stream of transcribed speech utterances to the agent.18. A method according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the outgoingtext messages from the agent is based on a script selected by the agent.19. A method according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the outgoingtext messages comprises text manually entered by the agent.
 20. A methodaccording to claim 11, further comprising: assigning a further call tothe agent during the accepted call from the customer.